Look at Me
by Fairy Glow
Summary: Burdine Maxwell's daughter gets expelled from Boarding School. Ashlee doesn't want to go to another one. Can the Bratz help their Rival Magazine Editor see her daughter for who she is? Please Read and Review Rated T just in case.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: I do not own any of the Bratz characters. Original characters belong to me.

Chapter One

Burdine clenched her fists tightly as she listened to the radio.

" _Yes, we're happy to announce that_ Bratz Magazine _is going to be covering the Starlight Fashion Show next month!"_ Jade proudly told the radio host. _"We cannot wait to see what imaginative designs have been thought up."_

" _Is it also true that you're also thinking of entering yourself, Jade?"_ asked the radio host.

" _I was considering it, yes,"_ said Jade. _"Fashion has always been my thing!"_

" _Then why don't you?"_

A brief pause. Burdine listened with keen intent.

" _I suppose I ought to give what I have in fashion a go,"_ Jade finally replied.

Burdine growled with her teeth infused together, as she pounded her right fist on her desk.

"Mother of pink! Mother of pink!" she cried. "How can those darn Bratz get the full coverage of the Starlight Fashion Show? How? _I'm_ the reigning Queen of Fashion!"

She stood up from her high back chair and walked around the desk. Her arms were crossed firmly, trying to think. Ever since _Bratz Magazine_ had launched, sales to _Your Thing_ had plummeted. Burdine Maxwell had been doing almost anything and everything to get rid of the Magazine that dared to rival hers. But nothing had worked.

Just then the double doors to her office opened. Kirstee and Kaycee, Burdine's identical twin interns, walked on in. The girls dressed identically. The only way to tell them apart was Kaycee's bandaged nose from her latest nose job. Plus the fact that Kirstee seemed to have a better I.Q. than that of her sister. Not by much though.

"Where have you two been?" Burdine demanded, once she saw them.

"We were shop-"

Kirstee stamped on Kaycee's foot before she could say any more.

"Ow!"

"We were just picking up your mail!" Kirstee said quickly, presenting six envelopes.

Burdine went over and snatched them from the intern. She skimmed over the first five to see who they were from. It was the sixth and final one that caught her eye. She recognised the handwriting immediately, plus the colour of the envelope. There was only one person she knew that would send her a letter in a pale green envelope with navy blue ink and pen calligraphy writing. Burdine was about to open it, that was until she noticed that the twins were still standing there.

"What are you still doing here?" she snapped. "Go and do the errands I ordered you to do!"

"What errands?" Kaycee asked, confused.

Burdine realised that she didn't actually give the girls anything to do earlier. Not wanting to feel caught out, she quickly went to her desk and found a list of groceries she had planned to do on her way home. She picked it up and gave it to Kirstee.

"Make sure you get everything on the list!" she ordered. "Don't come back until you have it all done."

Kirstee and Kaycee knew all too well what would happen if they tried to argue. The last thing they wanted to do was do Burdine's food shopping. Most of the items were pretty easy to get, but they weren't the type of girls go into supermarkets. As far as they were concerned, they were disgusting and unhygienic.

"We'll get it done right away," said Kirstee, grabbing Kaycee by the upper arm and pulling her with her toward the door.

Burdine waited until the twins were fully gone before turning back to the unopened letter in her hands. Looking down, she opened the envelope rather rapidly. Just as fast, pulled the paper out and unfolded it.

 _Dear Mother,_

 _I don't know how to put this, but I got expelled from the Boarding School you sent me to. Looks like you're going to have to put up with me again. At least until you find yet another place to ship me off to._

 _The letter of my expulsion should have arrived just before, or after, this letter. Sorry if it puts a spanner into your big fashion magazine plans. But looks like I'm going to be on my way home again._

 _See you when I get to Stylesville,_

 _Ashlee_

A sigh escaped from Burdine. This was one of the issues she never shared with people. Back when Burdine was in her early twenties she met someone who thought she was perfect. Or so he led her to believe. In a whirlwind of romance and fun, Burdine soon found out that she was expecting. The man had managed to convince her that she should get rid of it. Yet there was something in the back of Burdine's mind that kept telling her that she shouldn't.

Upon changing her mind about the whole abortion, the man's loving demeanour changed. He was quite rude and kept commenting on how fat she was going to be. Also that her career as a Fashion Editor was to go up in smoke. Very hurt by this, Burdine knew that the man she believed to love her wasn't even that man at all. He actually left the apartment they were sharing, with almost everything except for her clothing.

However, Burdine stayed strong. She had her daughter, Ashlee, and raised her as best as she could. In addition, carried out her ambition to be the best Fashion Magazine editor she believed she was. _Your Thing_ Magazine became the biggest thing when it started hitting the shelves. Burdine started sending Ashlee to Boarding School, believing it was the best way her daughter can get educated and be able to carry out her career. Unfortunately, not long Ashlee had turned ten, she started playing up. Ashlee, who was now sixteen, had been expelled three times. Four, actually, after this letter. Why her daughter was doing this, Burdine didn't know. Didn't the girl know how vital her mother's career was?

Burdine shook her head, folding the letter and placing it back in the pale green envelope. Looks like she was going to have to find another Boarding School. In the mean time, Burdine will just have to enrol Ashlee into Stylesville – and find something for the girl to do while she was staying.

She swore she could feel a slight headache coming on.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: I do not own any of the Bratz characters. Original characters belong to me.

Chapter Two

"Hey girls," Cameron greeted Sasha and Jade at the line up at the buffet, in the school cafeteria.

"Hey, Cam," said Jade, smiling. "How was Math?"

Cameron grimaced at the question. "Not so well. We were given a pop quiz and I think I got almost every answer wrong."

Jade and Sasha gave him sympathetic faces. They both knew that Cameron usually had trouble with mathematics.

"Don't worry about it too much, Cameron," Sasha assured, getting her tray, "I'm sure you got more answers right than you think."

Cameron wasn't so sure about that, but appreciated the comment.

"How's the fashion designing coming?" he asked, wanting to change the subject.

"It's going great!" Jade exclaimed happily, as she got herself a tray. "I have the wardrobe drawn out, I just need to find the right materials to do it."

They were helping themselves to the selective range before them.

"As if anyone would want to see what you come up with!" a high pitched voice spoke from behind Cameron.

Sasha and Jade couldn't help groaning, as Cameron turned around. Kirstee and Kaycee were both standing with them.

"What do you want?" Sasha asked coolly. She took a fruit salad from the dessert end.

At this point a girl entered the cafeteria. She was dressed in a pair of navy blue pants with a pale green vine pattern wrapped around the left leg from the knee down. Her pale green top was short-sleeved and her shoes were a pair of white sneakers, with navy blue laces and pale green leaves on the heel. Her honey blond hair was up in a high ponytail, held with a pale green scrunchie. Navy blue studded earrings and bangle were her only jewellery.

She peered around the area, finding the small line up for the food. She also noticed Kaycee and Kirstee standing there, with three other students.

"Not that it's any of your business, it is lunch time," said Kirstee.

"I thought you didn't like eating the food at this school. You usually bring your own lunch," said Jade, raising her eyebrows.

"We don't eat carbohydrates!" Kaycee said with hands on hips.

"Wow, that's a big word coming from you," said a voice from behind the Tweevils.

It belonged to the girl who had entered the cafeteria just moments ago. Kaycee and Kirstee were having trouble trying to hide their disgust and fear.

"What are you doing here?" Kirstee sneered.

The girl raised her eyebrows. But instead of answering, she turned to Jade, Sasha and Cameron.

"Hi, I'm Ashlee. I just moved here."

"Nice to meet you," said Sasha. "I'm Sasha. This is Jade and Cameron."

"Hi," said Jade and Cameron in unison.

"You were in my Math class," said Cameron.

Ashlee gave a polite smile. "I thought I recognised the face. Never thought I saw someone concentrating as hard as you before."

"I was actually panicking."

Cameron took an ice cream with red jelly from the desserts, while Ashlee helped herself to a slice of pizza, chips and salad. She also took a bottled water too.

"Were you?" said Ashlee, surprised, ignoring the twins.

"Yeah, Math is a weak subject of mine," Cameron admitted.

"You're not the only one," said Ashlee, taking an ice cream with green jelly.

They reached the end of the buffet.

"You can sit with us if you like," Jade offered.

Seeming to not expect a quick invite, Ashlee went to answer.

"What are you doing?" Kirstee hissed. "Do you even know who they are?"

"So?" Ashlee replied.

"What if your mother finds out you're hanging with them?" Kirstee cried.

"Yeah, we'd be in trouble for sure!" Kaycee added.

Ashlee rolled her eyes and simply went with Sasha, Jade and Cameron. This left the twins standing their stunned.

"What was that about?" Sasha couldn't help asking.

Ashlee shook her head. "My mother is an uptight workaholic, who thinks that I should be escorted twenty-four seven. She's also annoyed that I got expelled from my last school."

"Expelled? What for?" Jade sounded surprised.

"I played a harmless prank on two girls who deserved it," said Ashlee, with a small smile and a glint in her blue-green eye.

"Why would you do that?"

"The fact that I have been shoved into Boarding Schools as soon as I was able to go," said Ashlee. "I hated being there. But my mother cares far too much about her work to give a hoot about me and what I want to do."

"Now, I'm sure that is not true," Sasha said.

"You only know her from a business point of view," said Ashlee, just as they reached the table where Yasmin, Cloe and Dylan were already sitting.

"Know who from a business point of view?" Cloe asked, hearing the end of the conversation.

"Who's the babe?" asked Dylan, before Ashlee could respond.

"This is Ashlee," said Jade. "She just moved here. Ashlee, this is Yasmin, Cloe and Dylan."

"Where did you move from?" Yasmin asked, as the girls and Cameron sat down.

"I used to go to Riverside Boarding School," said Ashlee.

"Riverside? Isn't that an all girl school?" Cloe asked.

"Yes."

Ashlee became aware that Dylan was staring at her with a dreamy like expression. Her brow furrowed.

"You're freaking me out!" she said.

Dylan snapped out. "Sorry."

"How come the Tweevils were surprised you'd agree to sit with us?" Jade inquired.

"Don't worry about them," said Ashlee, brushing the question aside. "They feel it is their duty to make sure that I don't get into trouble … or whatever it is they're meant to be doing."

"So what are you into?" Yasmin asked. "As in hobbies and the like?"

"Um … I like fashion, jewellery and art designs. Even my Mom agrees that I have some great potential and talent," Ashlee answered.

"Oh, wow. Me, too!" Jade exclaimed with an enthused smile. "Perhaps you could help me with the Fashion show that's coming up?"

"The Starlight Fashion Show?" said Ashlee.

"The very one."

Ashlee thought it over, looking somewhat excited. Only deflated after that moment.

Shaking her head; "I'm sorry, I would have to pass on that. My Mom has been looking at Boarding Schools since my expulsion. So I'll be lucky if I am here for two weeks before getting shipped off again."

"Do you want to be in Boarding School?" Sasha asked.

"Not really. But it's not about what I want. It's what my Mom wants and thinks is best for me," Ashlee replied. She stood up. "Excuse me."

She walked away from the Bratz' table and out of the cafeteria.


End file.
